For John and Elizabeth

Though it's not the hot news any more I'm still thinking about the Edwards' decision to run on despite Elizabeth's cancer reoccuring. I understand that she would not want to be the reason for him to drop out-these days running for office has to be a couple's dream, given the necessary effort and scrutiny involved. As a person living with 2 chronic conditions I understand well how being forced to give up anything, even a small day to day thing, can seem like the worst kind of failure. (What if I call in today and it's 4 times worse tomorrow?) Having prominent people publicly living with cancer is great, it helps demonstrate people are not their illness and removes some of the stigma the healthy may have. But, as an adult who lost a mother to cancer as a child, I can say if I were their friend and they asked me for advice I would have emphatically said don't do it. All of us only have a limited amount of time in this life-that's a given but it's a given most have the luxury of putting in the back of our mind. The dying can and should operate a little differently. The Edwards have a young family-I think they should treasure the time they have left together, away from the public spotlight. That's not sitting around waiting to die, that's choosing to die the way you want to-there's a big, big difference. In presidential terms John is a young man and there will be time for running again later if that's what he wants. Now I think he should put family first.